Max Murin entered the media room inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday wearing a hoodie with the words “good vibes” written across the chest.

“It’s all about the vibes,” said Murin, a University of Iowa 149-pounder. “Positive vibes, good vibes.”

The top-ranked and deep Hawkeye wrestling team received a dose of positivity Dec. 5 when Murin competed for the first time this season during a dual victory at No. 13 Iowa State. Murin won by a point over Ian Parker, providing a good vibe for Iowa, which took a commanding 10-3 lead after the 149-pound bout.

It was a starting point for Murin, who has had more than a week to dissect his performance in Ames.

“I need to score more points,” said Murin, who is ranked eighth in the nation by FloWrestling. “I only got one takedown (in a 3-2 decision), I gave up a stall call and that stall point. I didn’t want to do that, that is not my style, it’s not the Iowa style, but I got the job done. I need to keep building on that and scoring more points and keep moving forward.”

The win at Iowa State was the first time Murin competed since dropping back-to-back overtime decisions to Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State and Jaden Abas of Stanford at the 2021 NCAA Championships in St. Louis. After opening his junior season with four straight victories, Murin finished with a 6-5 record. It was his first season at 149 after spending his first three seasons at 141 where he went 49-16.

Iowa head coach Tom Brands knows that Murin adds a welcomed feature to a powerhouse Hawkeye lineup that returns all 10 starters from its 2021 Big Ten Championship and NCAA Championship team.

“Max Murin, awesome. We love him,” Brands said. “He is a fan favorite because of how he competes. He is a coach's favorite because of how he competes and it’s great.”

Perhaps the deepest weight class in Iowa’s Dan Gable Wrestling Complex is 149. Sophomore Cobe Siebrecht manned the position during the month of November, winning the Luther (Iowa) Open via three technical falls and posting a 5-1 record. Another option is senior Vince Turk, who has 47 career victories and was an NCAA qualifier in 2018 at 141 pounds.

“When you talk about that weight class and there may be still things up in the air, but I think (Murin) took control of it at least from where I’m at,” Brands said. “But we have to be smart with him, too. We have to be really, really smart with him.”

The depth at 149 will come in handy next week when Iowa competes in the Journeyman Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Florida. The Hawkeyes take on Central Michigan and No. 17 Lehigh on Dec. 20 and then a match on Dec. 21 against an opponent yet to be determined. 

“It is another amazing opportunity,” Murin said. “Whatever my job is, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. I’m grateful to be part of this team and no matter what my job is, I’m going to do it.”